Ongoing beach erosion could cost city taxpayers millions of dollars, Port Hueneme officials said this week.

Public Works Director Andres Santamaria asked the Port Hueneme City Council at its meeting Monday night to extend the beach erosion emergency.

In a report to the council, Santamaria said the Port Hueneme beach likely will not receive more sand from a sand trap in the Channel Islands Harbor before November 2014.

Santamaria said the beach showers have been lost to erosion and that some of the 2-ton boulders around the flag area have washed away. He told the council the city will have to place giant sandbags near the promenade to keep it from washing away. With the lack of sand replenishment for almost 18 months, it will probably be necessary to have boulders placed to protect some streets and the Port Hueneme Pier from further erosion, he added.

This work could cost the city millions of dollars, he said.

Councilman Doug Breeze said he is frustrated that the city must pay to correct a problem caused by the jetty that created the Port of Hueneme but deprived city beaches of needed sand.

The U.S. government acknowledges its responsibility for the problem, Councilman Jon Sharkey said, “but it’s hard to get a senator from Nebraska to understand why this is important.”

Because of budget constraints, the Army Corps of Engineers could dredge 600,000 cubic yards of sand this year compared with the 2 million cubic yards it is supposed to pump every other year from the sand trap. Port Hueneme beaches received about 400,000 cubic yards of the dredged sand.

“We could possibly end up paying $3 million to $4 million to $5 million. I don’t know how the city can afford this. We can get it from the emergency reserves, but what happens if there is an earthquake or other natural disaster?” Breeze said.

Santamaria said the city has appealed to Ventura County to have the matter declared an emergency, the first step before going to the state for an emergency declaration.

Also Monday, officials said Carmen Nichols, assistant to the city manager, will become acting city manager effective July 1, when interim City Manager John Richard “Dick” Velthoen’s contract runs out.

City Attorney Mark Hensley made the announcement after a closed session at Monday night’s meeting. The council met to discuss the search for a permanent city manager to replace Dave Norman, who resigned in early October at the council’s request.

Nichols already has been periodically filling in for Velthoen. In the meantime, Hensley said, the city will continue to seek qualified candidates for the permanent post.

In another matter, three of the five council members — Sylvia Munoz Schnopp, Mayor Ellis Green and Breeze — had a potential conflict of interest Monday on a proposed mixed-use development because they live within 500 feet of it. The site is on Victoria Avenue, north of Channel Island Boulevard.

Hensley had a drawing to determine which council member would sit in on a public hearing about the parcel to bring the council back up to a quorum.

After Schnopp’s name was selected, Green and Breeze left the room while developer John Ashkar showed the council his plans for developing the 4.5-acre plot, one of the last areas in the city that can be developed.

The proposed project would offer 112 one- and two-bedroom upscale apartments in a complex with a rooftop pool and spa area, according to Ashkar. A grocery store would anchor a shopping center there. Ashkar said he was talking to Lassen’s Natural Foods and Vitamins.

After listening to Santa Monica architect Manny Gonzalez and being assured that traffic in surrounding areas would not be affected, the three council members unanimously approved the project.

Ashkar said the California Coastal Commission also is reviewing the project and that he hopes to break ground in 18 months.